Fountain drinking-cup.



M. L. RAHNER.

FOUNTAIN DRINKING CUP- APPLICATION FILED AUG-I8. 1913.

Patented Dec. 18,1917.

fellows.

rinrrnnsrarnsrarnnr oration MARTIN L. ,RAHNER, or PORTLAND, OREGON, AssIGIvoR "ro QREGON BnAs-s woRKs, a CORPORATION or OREGON. y Y

FOUNTAIN DRINKING-Q1212,"

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, MARTIN L. RAHNER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah, and State of Oregon,have invented certain new and useful Improvements Fountain Drinking-Cups, of which the following is a specification. it i This invention relates to fountain drinks ing cups, and more particularly to certain improvements therein, whereby I provide means for automatically shutting off the flow of'water therefrom, except when in actual use, and also whereby a more even and uniform discharge or delivery flow of water from the cup is secured. Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of one practical embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompany: ing sheet of drawings and forming a part hereof. In the drawings,--

Figure l is a vertical sectional view through a drinking cup embodying my invention; f Y I Fig.2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail of an operating lever,

with part broken out to reduce the size of the figure; and r Fig. 4L is a side elevation of a mo'di ed form, partly in section, showing a cup without the automatic shut-off. 1

Referring now to the drawings the foun- 1 tain drinking or bubbling cup here illustrated comprises a body 1, with cap 2 mounted thereupon and secured'thereto. in any desired manner, said cap having a concaved top,- with central opening 3 and a series of smaller openings l4, therein, for delivering thewater from the, cup inafountainlike bubble. A neck portion-of the body 1 is threaded, as at 5, and adaptedto be attached to the endof'a supply pipe, in the usual manner. -In the upper part ofsaid cup 1, is a division disk or floor 6, dividing the interiorof saidcup into two chambers,as 7 and 8, said floor 6 and said concavedtop having registering openings as 9+9, therethrough, connected. with short tubes, as 10-10, whereby to afford a way ofescape for the water should the hand be placed over the top of the cup, as is frequently done by boys in order to squirt water at their play- The water then escapes through these tubeswhich' extend down through the chamber 7 to cha'niberS, 7 into whichthe Specification of Letters Ilatent. Patented 1917; Application filed August 18, 1913. Serial No.-785,221. i

water is :jdischarged and fron1' wl1ich 'it escapes through the outletports 11. 3 5

'1 Mountedv through: the center of'said cup is a hollow supply tube, composed in-the present: form of two membersl2 and 13.

Theupper part 12 is provided'in" its upper end with a shut off plug, as l-yadaptedzto benscrewed' down into. said tube to shut off the outlet ports 15 opening from the upper end of said'tube, said screw being, accessible through the central openingf3 in theconcaved'topf of the cup 2. Said tubular membe'r 12 is also provided at a :point beneath the floor 6,-with an annularrim,orcollar, a 16, whiclrforms a bearing for the upperQendof a coiled spring 17', mounted around said tube member 12,. and having its lower end seated upon a second-disk or floor member 18, mounted'zin-the; lower part of the chamber 8. Said disk, 18;. has a central opening 18, for a purpose hereinafter again referred to, and small outletv openings 18- ,;for the escape of water to'theoutlets 11. Formed upon the lower eIlClj Of said -tubular-member 12Tis a flange 19.1 a Anop'erating lever 20, shown detached-in Fig. 3, has a part -w'hich fits 'around said tubular-member12 and sa-idf'spring 17 while its inner .end is upturned asjat 20 and-is adapted to bear against the undersideof the floor 6.. -I[tis provided with a pair of downwardly depending, rocker portions, as 20, adapted to extend downwardly through the opening 18, in the disk 18, and bear upon the flange 19 ofthe; tubular member 12, whereby, when the-handle 20 of said lever 20ispressed downwardly by hand, the rocker portions 20 operate tobear downwardly, against the tension 'of-the' spring-17,

upon theflange 19 and to move'rthe'tubularmember- 12 I downwardly; The Ilower part 18 of said tubular member is constructed to screw into: the upper part" 12, as indicat'ed, ;and' to this end is provided with a slot, as" 21, in its lower end to receive a.

screw driver; The lower end-of; said member 13 is formed into a valve adapted tofit into a valve seat, as at 22, in the neck ofsaid cup,- whereby to shutofithe passageqof water up -into the .cup, except when said member 13 is. moved downwardly away from said-seat 22, as just" described in connection with the operating lever '20., Y

Said tubular-member 13', just above the valve seat is provided with a series of seated around its edge therein, as at 25,

while a locking disk 26, screwed into the cup body, holds it in place, and together they prevent any water from passing up around the outside of said tubular member.

13 and into the cup chambers above, thus making it necessary that the water pass through the openings 23-23 in the tubular member 13 and up through said tubular member to the outlet openings 15 around the upper end thereof and into chamber 7, in the upper part of the cup.

The coiled spring 17 it will be understood, operates to normally raise the tubular members 12-13, so as to close the supply inlet at 22, until the lever 20 has been pressed downwardly to open said su ply inlet.

By providing the chamber i and discharging the water thereinto before it is delivered from the cup, a more even and uniform flow of water is had through the delivery openings 3 and i in the concaved top of said cup, thus making it more desirable to drink from.

By providing the escape tubes 10-10 betweenthe openings 9-9, through said chamher 7, water from the c'oncavedsurface of the cup can escape through said tubes to chamber 8 and escape therefrom through opening 11, should boys place their hands over the cup in play, thereby avoiding any squirting of water from under their hands.

Should it be desired to shut off a cup from use, as where there are a number in close proximity, it is only necessary to insert a screw-driver through the opening 3 in the concaved top. of the cup, and run the valve plug 1 1 down into the tube until it closes the outlet openings 15 from said tube. Said plug cannot be removed from said tube by anyone for the reason that the cap or top 2 of the cup is spaced therefrom sufficiently to allow it to be raised to open the ports 15, but not to allow its detachment from the tube.

In Fig. 4 I have shown adrinking cup without the operating handle and the springcontrolled valve for automatically shutting off the flow of the water, except when not in use, but having the supply in lets into a receiving chamber, with a screw valve member for closing said inlets at will, and also having the escape tubes leading from the concaved top of said cupthrough thecup and discharging at the sides thereof. In this embodiment of the invention the body of the-cup is the same, designated as 1 with a top or cap 2, having the central opening 3 through which access can be had for operating the screw valve member 14 adapted, when down, to closethesupply inlets 15. One or more tubes, as 10, provide means for the escape of water from the concaved top of the cup, through the receiving chamber 7 and out through the side of the cup, as at 9. This form of the invention has the receiving chamber into which the water is first discharged before being delivered for drinking purposes, and also has the escape tubes, as well as the screw valve plug for shutting off the supply of water entirely.

The cup is preferably made of brass and after the parts are assembled, the cap 2 is permanently secured in place, thereby mak ing the cup not only fool-proof, but boy proof, and providing a device incapable of getting out of order aside from some violent blow, and while I have shown and described two practical forms of the invention, 1 am aware that changes can. be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof, and I do not, tnerefore, limit the invention to the particular showing here made, as illustrative thereof, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fountain drinking cup of the character referred to, comprising a body having a shallow concaved top with its entire middlegportion below the outer rim or edge thereof and provided with one or more discharge openings in said concaved top, and one or more non-squirt tubes opening through said concaved top and discharging down through the body of said cup, said non-squirt tubes being of less draining capacity than said discharge openings, whereby an overflow results and cleanses the top of said cup.

2. A drinking fountain head of globular form having an inner chamber and adapted to be connected to a source of water supply, and having a shallow concaved top provided with one or more discharge openings, said concaved top being wholly below the outer edge. thereof, whereby the hand can be placed over the entire edge of said device without engaging the concaved middle portion thereof, and one or more non-squirt tubes opening through said concaved top and discharging therefrom through the body of said device, whereby when the hand is placed over the edge of said concaved top the. water from the discharge openings will escape through said non-squirt tubes, said non-squirt tubes being of less draining capacity than said discharge openings, whereby an overflow results and cleanses the-top of said cup, substantially as and for the purpose indicated.

3. A drinking fountain head of the character referred to, comprising a body adapted to be connected to asource of water supply and at its unner end having a shallow con caved top provided with one or more discharge openings, one or more non-squirt tubes extending through said concavedtop and discharging through the body of said device, and means accessible through one of said discharge openings for controlling the flow of water through said fountain head.

at. A drinking fountain of the character referred to, comprising a chambered body adapted to be attached to a source of water supply and provided in its top with one or more discharge openings and having a partition member therein dividing said body into upper and lower chambers, a tubular valve member with receiving ports at its lower end and discharge ports at its upper end, its upper end discharging into said upper chamber, an operating lever extending into said lower chamber and operatively connected with said tubular valve member and adapted to move the same to open the receiving. ports at its lower end, and means normally operating to return'said tubular valve member and said lever to normal positions, whereby to close the. receiving ports in the lower end of said tubular valve member.

5. A drinking fountain of the character described, comprising a globular shaped body adapted to be attached to a source of water supply and having a concaved top provided with one or more discharge openings, a horizontally disposed partition member therein dividing the interior thereof into upper and lower chambers, one or more non-squirt tubes connected at their upper ends through said concaved top and at their lower ends through said partition member, a tubular valve member movably mounted ed with receiving openings adapted to be closed by said body member when said tubular valve member is in one position, means normally tending to hold said valve member in said position, and an operating lever extended into the interior of said lower chamber and operatively connected with said tubular valve member for moving the same to open the receiving openings in the lower end thereof, substantially as described.

6. A fountain drinking cup of the char acter described, comprising in combination a body with an inlet opening in its bottom and delivery ports in its top, a dividing floor therein dividing said cup into upper and lower chambers, a supply tube with its lower end formed into a valve and controlling the inlet to said cup, said tube having inlet ports at its lower end above the valve portion, and outlet ports at its upper end, a valve plug in the upper end of said tube. for closing said outlet ports, an operating lever for manually moving said tube to open the inlet to said cup, and a spring for normally holding said tube in its raised position to close the inlet to said cup, substantially as shown and described.

Signed at Portland, Oregon, this 21 day of July, 1913.

MARTIN L. RAHNER. In presence of A. J. PEAPER,

A. B. Hnncns.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. i 

